


half a heartbeat

by deervision



Category: ENHYPEN (Band)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Kind of Oblivious Park Sunghoon, M/M, Menace Kim Sunoo, this is a christmas fic kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29920002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deervision/pseuds/deervision
Summary: Sunghoon's day off was supposed to have been a super chill, super relaxed, do-nothing kind of day.Why, then, was he outdoors in the middle of freezing Seoul winter, carrying shopping bags for one Kim Sunoo?
Relationships: Kim Sunoo & Park Sunghoon, Kim Sunoo/Park Sunghoon
Comments: 29
Kudos: 104





	1. I

It was Sunghoon’s day off.

It _was_ Sunghoon’s day off, wasn’t it? Days off usually entailed lazy mornings of cheap breakfast, video games with Jake, and making fun of his roommate Jongseong when he eventually complained about them wearing socks indoors. Normal things, easy things.

Why, then, was he outdoors in the middle of freezing Seoul winter, carrying shopping bags for one Kim Sunoo?

“Ooh, this one looks cute!” said Sunoo, pointing at a window display of decidedly out-of-budget wristwatches, his eyes lighting up like a little kid. Sunghoon cleared his throat. It was a mystery.

They’ve been into two stores already, and instead of buying Christmas presents for his family like the plan had been, the bags are filled with free samples, a new pair of shoes (for Ni-ki, Sunoo said cheerfully) and several curiosities of makeup that Sunghoon’s never heard of before. He thinks about his warm bed, his warm socks. Jake and Jongseong playing Mario Kart together over ramyeon. That could’ve been Sunghoon right now.

But the blue scarf wrapped around Sunoo’s neck made him look like a dumpling nestled in soft wool. If he was wearing tinted lip gloss, Sunghoon totally hadn’t noticed or anything.

“Say, Sunghoon-hyung,” Sunoo said suddenly, coming to an abrupt stop in front of—Sunghoon had to squint—a themed cafe? “It’s your birthday tomorrow, right?” To say Sunghoon was taken aback was an understatement. What with extra hours at the ice rink and university whooping his ass of late, it’d almost slipped his mind. His own sister hadn’t mentioned anything the last time they’d spoken over the phone. He didn’t know how he felt about the fact that Sunoo remembered.

A small smirk appeared on his hoobae’s face; he was scheming, and Sunghoon got the distinct impression that unless he dropped his bags and ran, he was going to get roped into whatever _it_ was, whether he liked it or not.

“Yeah…” he said cautiously. “Why?”

Sunoo’s smirk just widened, and before he could ask _what now_ , Sunghoon found himself grabbed by the wrist and dragged inside the coffee shop. _His hands are so small_ , he thought vaguely.

“Play along, will 'ya Sunghoon-hyung? I know you’ll like this.” Sunoo winked and waved one of the waiters over. His cheeks were rosy pink from the cold, and his eyes glittered like they did when he had something up his sleeve. It made for a deadly combination.

“Welcome, we hope you enjoy your stay,” said the unsuspecting waiter, handing them both menus. Was Sunghoon’s imagination playing tricks on him or was this cafe full of couples? Everywhere he looked, young people were holding hands and staring deeply into each other’s eyes. He watched as a girl not much older than him reached over to smooth down her boyfriend’s hair. Over Sunoo’s shoulder, two more girls were feeding each other strawberry parfait, giggling the whole while. Sunghoon swallowed thickly. Nope, not just his imagination, then.

“Yah, why are we here?” hissed Sunghoon. “I accompanied you today ‘cause you said you wanted help picking out a present for your mom, that’s all. I don’t have money to spare for food.”

Sunoo pouts. “Come onnn hyung, you’re no fun! This cafe is so cute, look how festive everything is. Do you want a gingerbread cookie? I’m going to buy you a gingerbread cookie.”

“But I’m the hyung, I should be the one to pay—” started Sunghoon, before remembering what he’d just said about having no money. He was always getting caught up in Sunoo’s rhythm like that. It was a real problem.

“Are you ready to order?” asked the waiter.

Sunoo instantly perked up from behind the menu. “Actually…” he sighed dramatically. _Here it comes,_ thought Sunghoon. “You see, Sunghoonie-hyung here… his birthday is tomorrow.”

True enough. The waiter smiled and wished Sunghoon a happy birthday.

“But more importantly,” said Sunoo, squinting his eyes and making his bottom lip curl. The effect was impressive. Sunghoon could _feel_ hearts melting. “It’ll be the one year anniversary of us getting together.”

What.

What. The. Fuck.

Sunoo is still talking. “I know the couples dessert buffet isn’t available until Christmas Eve,” he says, still in that high, polite voice. “But Sunghoon-hyung has to catch a flight to Australia in the morning for his studies, and I was really, _really_ hoping to treat him before he leaves.” Sunoo reached over to squeeze his hand and it was all Sunghoon could do not to squeak. Not only were his palms small, they were also so, so soft. Sunoo locked eyes with him, and almost sounded genuine when he said, “He’s always so good to me. I wanna do something for him too, you know?”

 _There’s no way this is going to work,_ thought the still-coherent part of Sunghoon, hysterically. Sunoo had very pretty eyelashes.

He should’ve known better. This was Kim Sunoo, after all—beloved by mothers, teachers, hyungs and noonas alike. A mere waiter didn’t stand a chance.

Predictably, the poor man bit his lip, looking both ways over his shoulder before leaning close to whisper in Sunoo’s ear. “Tell you what,” he said conspiratorially. “We don’t normally do this, but well, I think I can make an exception just this once. My boyfriend who works in the kitchen was the one who proposed the couple’s buffet in the first place. I’ll talk to him and see what we can do for you guys.” His eyes were shining when he pulled away. “Happy anniversary in advance!”

As soon as he was out of earshot, Sunghoon kicked Sunoo under the table. “What the hell was that?”

To be honest, he knew what this was. He’d been the reluctant companion to enough of Sunoo’s Friday film flushes to recognize a classic romantic comedy trope when he saw it—this was what those in the ‘biz called _fake dating_. Fake dating for free food, fake dating to fool family over the holidays. No matter how the story went, the movies always ended the same way: with the couple falling for each other once their play-acting hit just a little too close to home, and they realized that perhaps their feelings weren’t so fake after all.

Was that what was happening here? Was Sunoo trying to _romcom_ him?

Unlikely. Knowing Sunoo, this was probably an elaborate joke designed to ruffle Sunghoon’s feathers. The annoying thing was that it was working.

Sunoo shrugged and pretended to be interested in the menu, never mind that he'd already ordered. “I have no idea what you mean, hyung,” he sing-songed.

“We’re not dating,” deadpanned Sunghoon, and melodramatic, over-the-top hurt washed over Sunoo’s face in an instant.

“ _Whatever_ do you mean? Is this your boring, totally uncool, unromantic way of breaking up with me? You’re so mean, so cold! Heartbreaker!” His eyes filled with false tears. Shit, he was good. People were starting to stare.

“When we’ve even been boyfriends on Facebook for three months?!” Sunoo unlocked his phone and waved it around to Sunghoon’s utter confusion. “Look, it says right here: in a relationship with Park Sunghoon!”

Sunghoon pinched the bridge of his nose—he could feel a migraine coming on. Never a good sign when you needed to spend four hours at an ice rink tomorrow. “I don’t have an account. That’s just the one Jongseong made once to mess with me. Who even uses Facebook these days?”

“That would explain the lack of ahjussi-esque inspirational quotes on your profile,” Sunoo’s mouth made a little ‘o’, like he was in deep thought. “Or why you don’t post pictures of Gaeul every other minute.”

“Gaeul is an angel, you should be honored to view—”

“Anyway! We _could_ be dating. That’s the whole point.” Sunoo rested his chin on a palm. “Isn’t dinner and a movie usually considered a date?”

Sunghoon opened and closed his mouth, suddenly speechless. It was true that he’d spent most of the year with Sunoo hanging off his arm, being dragged around like a ragdoll into restaurants and parks and theatres but that was just—wait, what _was_ that, really. Did friends do that? Could he imagine doing it all with someone like Jake, for example?

And what about today? Sure, Sunghoon had come out because Sunoo was a cute hoobae in the habit of getting what he wanted, but he could’ve said no. He definitely could’ve said no. It was his day off, after all, and the middle of December. He’d much rather be at home, warm and comfortable, right? _Right?_

“What—what are you saying? Sunoo, I—”

Sunoo sighed again, a soft little noise. “You’re thinking too hard, hyung. Look, our super special couple’s desserts are here. Eat up, you need sugar.”

“Happy anniversary, again!” said the waiter, grinning at them. “Please don’t forget to cherish each other. Young love is fleeting but it can be so beautiful.”

 _Don’t forget to cherish me_ , Sunoo mouthed at him over the platter of miniature cakes. Sunghoon’s head felt light. Maybe he did need sugar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhm u can find me on twitter @soobhoonism <3 i hope you enjoyed my debut into enha fic hahaha sunsun are fun to write. let me know what u think!!


	2. II

Sunghoon stared at his glass of orange juice, feeling strangely philosophical. “Hey,” he said. “I’m going to ask you guys a question and I need you to be honest with me.”

“Of course,” said Jake, his eyes glued to the screen where his Princess Peach was overtaking Jongseong’s Wario. “And yes, the haircut was kind of a mistake.”

“What?” said Sunghoon self-consciously, feeling his freshly trimmed fringe as Jongseong snarled and swore. Jake’s eyes flicked to him. “Nothing, man. What’s on your mind?”

Sunghoon sighed, suddenly feeling ten years older than he was. It’d been several days since his birthday had come and gone. His sister had sent a snowglobe with a tiny metal ice skater inside. Jongseong had gifted him a pair of outrageously expensive sneakers. Sunoo had given him grief.

That day, after their couple’s desserts had arrived—cakes, pies, even an apple-cinnamon drink with two straws, Sunoo had dropped the subject. And after Sunghoon had obligingly posed for a few pictures for Sunoo’s SNS accounts, the two of them had eaten, split the bill and simply gone their separate ways.

But even on the train home, Sunghoon couldn’t stop thinking about what Sunoo had said. _We_ could _be dating._

“Do—okay this is going to sound crazy,” said Sunghoon. “But do you think… it looks like Sunoo and I are, uh, going out?”

“Going out where?” asked Jake.

“No, dude,” Sunghoon said, annoyed at how embarrassing this was to voice. “Going out… like… dating. Do we look like a couple?”

There was perfect silence in the room. “Kim Sunoo?” repeated Jongseong, like he hadn’t quite heard right. “Smiley second year who’s always hanging around here, begging me to make him food?”

Sunghoon nodded, perplexed. Jongseong had met Sunoo several times. He knew who he was.

Jake cleared his throat. ”Sunghoon—”

Jongseong sat up straighter. “No, seriously. Your _boyfriend_ Kim Sunoo?”

A lot of things happened at once: Jake elbowed Jongseong hard in the ribs, making him double over. Sunghoon choked on his orange juice, spraying all over his white t-shirt. The doorbell rang, once long and once short.

It was Sunoo, he knew instinctively. Once long and once short. Why did Sunghoon know Sunoo just by the way he rang a doorbell?

For some reason, he felt nervous. His hands shook as he unlocked the door.

“Hiya, hyung!” said Sunoo, as soon as it swung open. “Have you eaten? My noona sent these macarons from—” he stopped, taking in Sunghoon’s juice-stained shirt, before breaking into one of his signature, crinkly smiles. Sunghoon’s chest did a funny, flippy thing.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked innocently. Sunoo was a lot of things, but innocent he was not.

“Never. Come in, Sunoo-yah! We were just talking about you.” Jake appeared at Sunghoon’s elbow in a flash.

“‘Sup,” said Jongseong, nodding at Sunoo. “You brought me some too?”

“It’s only for my favorite hyungs,” pouted Sunoo, crying out when this earned him a firm noogie from Jongseong. When he was finally released, he grinned at the three of them and said, “By the way, why was I a topic of discussion again?”

“Oh right,” said Jongseong, popping a macaron in his mouth. “You won’t believe what Sunghoonie here just said.”

“He said he had something important to tell you. One-on-one,” said Jake.

“Huh?” Jongseong’s words echoed Sunghoon’s own thoughts. _Huh?_

Panic suddenly bubbled up in Sunghoon’s chest. One-on-one? What the fuck was Jake doing, he couldn’t be alone with Sunoo right now. Not when he was in the middle of an existential crisis, re-evaluating their relationship over the past two years under an electron microscope. This was no time to be throwing Sunghoon into the lion’s den without a knife.

Not that Sunoo was the lion in this equation. If he had to say which, Sunoo was more like a kitten. He had a funny way of laughing that made him look especially feline, his eyes scrunched narrow and his cheeks lifting and sometimes, when he fell asleep on Sunghoon’s shoulder after a movie night, his nose would wrinkle adorably and—oh God. Oh god, did Sunghoon _like_ Sunoo? As in, _like_ like him? More than just a hoobae to dote on, more than a friend?

This was insane. This couldn’t be happening to him right now. Sunghoon was straight, right? Ice skaters often got stereotyped as gay, and it was true that a lot of them were, but not Sunghoon. What about his high school girlfriend? His numerous crushes on female celebrities? What about the time at a first year party when he’d made out with that beautiful senior? Surely that was proof of heterosexuality, plain and simple. He still remembers her soft hair, the way her small hands had cupped his face.

Even as he recalled them, though, the memories morph into new ones. There was soft hair, but instead of a girl’s, it’s Sunoo’s, tickling his nose as he rested his head on Sunghoon's shoulder or pulled him into a sudden bear-hug. There were soft hands, but these belonged to Sunoo, too, holding his wrist to check the time on his watch, playing with his fingers. In Sunghoon’s mind, they held his face, gently trailing along his jawline and lips. Sunghoon wondered if Sunoo’s lips were as soft as his hands and hair.

“Hyung?”

He jumped, coming back to Earth to realize Sunoo _did_ have his hands on Sunghoon’s face. He was holding it, tilting it downwards so he could meet Sunghoon’s eyes.

“Sorry Sunoo-yah,” he coughed, taking a large step back. “You were saying?”

“I wasn’t saying anything.” Sunoo looked at him funny. “Jake-hyung said you wanted to talk to me alone, but you suddenly zoned out and started mumbling to yourself. It was kind of scary.” Now that he mentioned it, Sunghoon noticed that Jake and Jongseong were nowhere to be seen. On their apartment’s shitty television (with its deluxe gaming setup sponsored by Jongseong) Mario was asking if they wanted to play another round.

“Right, um.” Sunghoon needed to sit down. He needed to think this through. Alright, even if Park Sunghoon _did_ have freshly discovered bisexual status, instigated by one Kim Sunoo, this didn’t prove that they were dating. This didn’t prove anything.

Sunoo was always pulling his leg and pushing his buttons at the same time just to get reactions out of Sunghoon. He found it hilarious. What he’d said the other day could’ve easily been another practical joke. Sunoo had wanted premium dessert for cheap, and Sunghoon had been a convenient accessory.

“Hyung, you’re doing it again,” said Sunoo, snapping his finger’s right under Sunghoon’s nose. Somehow they’d ended up on the couch? “The staring-off-into-space thing that only happens when you’re thinking too hard.”

“Sunoo-yah,” Sunghoon blurted out. “What did you mean that day when you said we were dating?” This was a bad idea. Suddenly Sunoo _did_ seem like the lion. An elephant, even, to mirror the elephant in the room that was apparently Sunghoon’s giant crush on him. Why hadn’t the universe given him any hints about his own feelings? Did it _want_ Sunghoon to make a fool of himself?

Sunoo just blinked, slow. He really did look like a cat sometimes. “I meant exactly what I said, hyung. _Aren’t_ we dating?”

“But—but—” Sunghoon didn’t know why he found himself at a loss for words so frequently around Sunoo, but here he was again. “But I’m not gay—bi, maybe. I don’t know. I don’t like boys.”

For some reason, this made Sunoo giggle. “Hyung, you got drunk and made out with Jongseong-hyung last month.”

“That was—you remember that?” Sunghoon was still trying to scrub that absolutely humiliating night from his mind. He and Jongseong hadn’t made eye contact for two whole days after it. Another hoobae from Sunoo’s year, Jungwon, had filmed the whole thing, laughing his head off. _For blackmail_ , he’d said.

“Of course I remember,” Sunoo was pouting again. “You made me super jealous.”

Sunghoon felt light-headed again. “Why… did you feel jealous?”

“Because my boyfriend was kissing someone right in front of me.”

This was the part he needed clarified. “You _keep_ repeating that. I thought you were just messing with me.” Sunghoon stared at him, searching his face for the punchline to the joke. “Sunoo-yah, _boyfriends?_ ”

“Oh, hyung,” Sunoo sighed. “We basically are, that’s all I’m trying to say. Don’t you think so? I mean, we go on dates all the time. You’re the emergency contact on my phone, even before my mom. You buy me food and makeup and Gong Cha even when I don’t ask. You think I’m pretty.”

“How did you know?” gasped Sunghoon. Could Sunoo read minds now, too? Terrifying.

Sunoo rolled his eyes. “Please, I know how you look at me. I have functioning eyes, hyung!”

“Oh… that’s…” There went Sunghoon’s words again, stolen from his mouth. Just like the air from his lungs when Sunoo suddenly placed a hand between them on the couch, leaning into his space.

“Unless you don’t want to?” He said, suddenly looking worried. Sunghoon had never seen this expression on Sunoo before, or at least never this genuine. “You _do_ want to be boyfriends, right?”

The funny thing was Sunghoon already knew the answer to that. Jongseong’s confusion and Jake’s cryptic actions come back to him. Wow, they really _had_ been dating all this while. _Of course_ dinner and a movie was a date. You didn’t hold hands with friends. You sometimes made out with them, sure (and regretted it later), but you didn’t compromise your days off in the middle of winter for just _anyone_.

“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” He said, pretending to be annoyed. Sunoo’s face broke into a smile, pink flooding his cheeks. He was so cute. Sunghoon must’ve been a saint in his previous life. Or a dictator. Dating Kim Sunoo came with its own challenges.

“Just like I thought!” Sunoo said triumphantly. “Okay, come here, Sunghoonie-hyung. We need to commemorate your big revelation with a kiss.”

Sunghoon scoffed, even as his lips tingled in anticipation. “You annoying brat.”

“This brat is your boyfriend.”

“And apparently has been for several months,” said Sunghoon, grabbing Sunoo by the collar. “Remind me to change my status on Facebook. _In a relationship with Annoying Brat.”_

Sunoo just laughed into his mouth, sweet as sugar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaa this was kinda bad and tropey but hope u liked it anyways.. . here's my [twitta](www.twitter.com/deervision) if you want to talk more about sunsun <3


End file.
